KAROOSEUN VAN VOSBURG

246pp., b/w & colour illus., paperback, Protea Boekhuis, Pretoria, 2024

ISBN: 20249781485315667

Dr Franklin Sonn was born in 1939 at Vosburg, in the Karoo, and grew up in Queenstown and later Cape Town. A teacher by training, in 1974 he was appointed principal of Spes Bona in Athlone, and in 1977 he became Rector of Cape Town’s Peninsula Technikon. He was also President of the Cape Teachers' Association of South Africa (1976-1990) and Vice-chair of the Urban Foundation (1978-1991). In 1994 he campaigned for the ANC in the Western Cape elections. In 1995, he was appointed by President Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, where he served for three years. He was Chancellor of the University of the Free State (2002-2009), has served on the boards of many companies, and been awarded 13 honorary doctorates.